The demand for wireless resources in terms of bandwidth and throughput is ever-increasing. One approach under consideration to meet this increasing demand is through virtualization of networks, in which network resources and functionality are downloaded into one or more existing network nodes or points of presence (PoP) to provide a dynamic service level capability for a particular customer service provider and its end-users, as and when appropriate.
In some approaches, a customer may subscribe with an MNO to be provided one or more so-called virtual network “slices” of network resources. Typically each network slice is dynamically allocated to provide certain relatively isolated and/or homogeneous (in kind and level) services to a class of devices of relatively homogeneous end-users or subscribers of the customer, such as a utility and its remotely-located smart meters. In some examples, a plurality of the customer's end-users may make up a user group of the customer.
From the perspective of the customer, it has obtained a separate telecommunications network for its service(s), while from the perspective of the mobile network operator (MNO) offering such service capability, the MNO's network resources and functions are shared with other VNs in a manner substantially transparent to the customer and its end-users.
In network slicing, multiple virtual networks utilize a shared physical network infrastructure. The network functionality of a particular slice may be implemented by downloading and instantiating, as a virtual network function (VNF), certain network functionality from cloud-based resources to one or more existing PoPs. A given PoP may have downloaded and instantiated thereon one or more than one VNF, each corresponding to one or more than one slice. When the functionality is no longer appropriate, the corresponding VNF may be terminated or deactivated or modified to reflect more appropriate functionality.
Typically, a MNO designs or develops a given network slice and deploys an instance of it (network slice instance “NSI”) by the download and instantiation of the network slice and/or one or more VNFs corresponding to the design of the network slice. Eventually operators of the NSI use control plane (CP) 108 functions (CPFs) to deliver traffic over the deployed NSI.
A network slice may be considered to be an “end-to-end” (“E2E”) network slice in that NSI crosses a plurality of segments, clusters, subnets, zones and/or domains (collectively “segments”). E2E network slicing has been identified as one of the main deliverables of following generations of mobile networks. However different segments may exhibit disparate technologies, actors and/or roles, which inhibit the provisioning of a E2E network slice.
While draft 3GPP Technical Specification TS 28.530 entitled “Management of network slicing in mobile networks; Concepts, use cases and requirements v.0.2.0” introduces the concept of a Managed Object Class, it provides few details and few managed objects relating to network slice management.
As such, the basic resources or atomic components that can be used to construct a network slice are not described.
Accordingly, there may be a need for a mechanism to specify, deploy and operate an NSI that is not subject to one or more limitations of the prior art.
Accordingly, there may be also be a need for a detailed description of atomic components and their relationship in an object class structure for mobile networks, that covers all parts—both 3GPP and non-3GPP parts (including, without limitation, non-3GPP access networks, such as WI-FI or fixed access systems, transport networks (TNs), operator's local area data networks (LADNs), application functions AFs) and/or other service functions, application servers and/or user devices)—of the network, that is not subject to one or more limitations of the prior art.
This background is intended to provide information that may be of possible relevance to the present invention. No admission is necessarily intended, nor should be construed, that any of the preceding information constitutes prior art against the present invention.